19. Am I in Your Way?

Daphne briefly recalled Amber, who had fallen ill when she broke off her engagement with Romeo and soon after, her engagement to Psyche was announced.

Somehow, she had been quiet for a year, but had she been working behind the scenes? This time, the official wife of a divorced crown prince. Crown Princess… Empress?

‘The options are quite diverse.’

Daphne chuckled and loosely crossed her arms.

“If he’s a blond beauty and a virgin, I’ll gladly marry him.”

Amber’s golden eyes glanced upward once.

The imperial family of Agentar was rumored to have sun-kissed skin, blessed by the sun for generations, and silver hair, blessed by the moon. Moreover, polygamy was common, with each wife typically bearing two or three children.

Daphne giggled, watching her mother’s face unable to respond.

“Riding camels, making porridge from sheep’s milk, making clothes from fur… It’s quite romantic, but would I really live well if I married into such a place?”

“Try to make the imperial family a civilized country. You could do it.”

Amber took a sip from her teacup.

She was a mother who sometimes seemed to distrust her daughter, yet at other times showed tremendous pride in her. But why was she so desperate to attach her to some man?

Despite Daphne’s efforts to change this perception, it hadn’t changed in years.

“If this keeps up, I’ll just have a child with Celestian.”

“Your child would have Rodriguez and Green blood flowing through them. That would make another potential ruler.”

‘Ah, I suppose that’s true.’

Daphne missed her chance to respond. She admitted defeat on this topic. Scratching her cheek, Daphne pointed at her mother and made a threat.

“Don’t sell me for your ambitions, Mom. Not just me, but my child too. I especially hate politics and succession fights. If I get involved in such things, I’ll really commit suicide.”

Amber’s golden eyes flashed as she poured hot tea on her unfilial daughter. Daphne shrieked and curled her body to the opposite side. A few drops splashed, but the tea had mostly cooled, so it was fine.

“Who on earth did you take after to be like this?”

“Who else? A daughter is her mother’s mirror.”

Daphne made a finger gun of love and shot it, but Amber smirked and raised her hand to decline it.

“I’m not as impulsive as my daughter.”

“So you’re systematically setting me up as a long-term chess piece? No, I feel like I’m being treated almost like a broodmare.”

“Daphne, enough.”

Amber paused for a moment and then sighed.

“Let’s stop.”

No parent under the sun can win against a child who suddenly accelerates. Daphne always won.

“I won this time too. Mom, you lose. Boo-hoo.”

Daphne waved a victory sign in front of her mother’s face, then quickly ran away.

* * *

In the familiar, smoke-filled pool hall, a few close college friends were gathered.

―Why does Teriosa always wear the same clothes?

And strangely, Celestian was the topic of conversation. Usually, when meeting with these friends, the main interest was Romeo Rodriguez, so it was rare for Celestian to be discussed.

Thanks to this, Daphne had roughly figured out that this was a dream.

―Pretty cutie?

There was no way these people would understand modern slang. Even though she had muttered it in a small voice, Daphne was completely ignored. She pretended not to care and lowered her posture to carefully aim at the white ball with her cue.

―His face is really handsome, but I guess that’s because he’s an illegitimate child.

Iel Algeste, who threw away a barely-smoked cigarette into the ashtray, said.

―Our maid used to work at the prince’s palace, you know? They barely get any operating funds, so even the staff there is hostile. Dust rolls around in unused rooms. It was really hard to get a job in the royal family, but she said it was so poor that she quit right away and came to our house.

Angel Dawit, a theater actor, chimed in.

―I thought it was strange that Teriosa wore a uniform when everyone else wore suits.
―Isn’t Teriosa of marriageable age?
―How old is he? Twenty, twenty…

Two other friends continued to add comments.

―The crown prince will be exactly twenty-three this fall, so… I don’t know, anyway, isn’t he older than Prince Romeo?
Daphne wanted to immediately tell her friends his exact birth date and zodiac sign. But she held back.
―Who would want to marry an illegitimate child? Tsk.
―Why? For a man, his handsome face is all that matters. I thought Celestian was fine.

Daphne’s cue slipped.

―That’s why she married a guy with just a knighthood.
―Huh, a knight? That’s really just for show.
―Hey, why? My husband is handsome. He’s good at housekeeping too. Besides, I heard he’s only two ranks below Teriosa as an examiner? Isn’t that impressive?
―Jenna, you know that no matter how excellent an examiner is, they can’t beat a gunman.
―If he’s outmatched, he’ll just die, so don’t worry. Why are we talking about my husband when we were discussing Teriosa? Don’t touch taken men, you guys.

They weren’t interested in Celestian after all. Daphne sighed in relief. The white ball she had hit wrong was pushing a black ball towards the pocket.

Daphne’s friends had grown up in environments where they lived quite well and inevitably had high standards, so when they saw flaws in someone of higher status, they would gossip about it like they were tenderizing meat with a mallet.

―What good is a handsome face? He looked empty-headed. Strangely, all blondes seem to be like that.

‘Ah, they really don’t know. That’s actually the cutest point.’

Daphne, who had straightened her back and stood her cue up, resting her hands on top of it, silently listened to her friends’ gossip. She was curious to see how far they would go.

―Oh! Did you just sink it? What’s going on…?

However, their discussion ended because of the black ball that had gone into the pocket.

They had a bet where the loser had to pay for all the drinks and get a custom-made outfit for everyone.

Daphne didn’t care whether these dress-obsessed drunkards spent all their daily allowance or not.

―You guys are such hypocrites.
―What are you suddenly saying? Hurry up and pay. Don’t change the subject, okay?

They had all been desperate to exchange even a few words with Celestian, their mouths splitting into grins so wide they looked like jokers!

―I’ve never danced with Celestian even once.

Her friends seemed not to have heard Daphne’s words, already looking at catalogs to decide what clothes to buy. Daphne pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, then burst into laughter as if she had realized something.

Come to think of it, Daphne was the biggest hypocrite of them all.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she saw a pastel-toned oil painting ceiling that gave her goosebumps.

‘Ah… what is this.’

Perhaps because her energy was completely drained after the argument with her mother, Daphne had fallen asleep on the landing¹refers to a flat area on a staircase where the stairs briefly pause before continuing. It’s a small platform between flights of stairs or at the top of a staircase as soon as she reached her room. She had really fallen into a deep sleep.

Just as Daphne had done when he was sick, Celestian was sitting on a single sofa next to the bed, reading a book.

It was obvious who had moved her.

“Cele.”

Seeing him as soon as she opened her eyes made it feel even more like a dream. Daphne bit her back teeth and placed her palm on her forehead.

“Mm.”

“Sit down.”

Celestian uncrossed his legs and closed the book. Most of the pink books with gold decorations were romance novels.

“I am sitting.”

“No, lower.”

“Huh?”

“On the floor.”

If Daphne were Celestian, she would have cursed, saying not even Count Asura would do this, and immediately left the place.

So that’s what Daphne wanted.

He obediently stood up and sat down on the floor. Because the bed was low, Celestian was still looking down at Daphne.

He lowered his body further, resting his arms on the edge of the bed and placing his face on them. His face suddenly came closer. Daphne’s morality and blood pressure, which had been about to sink, seemed to rise sharply, drawing a red graph.

“I can’t go any lower than this. The bed is too low.”

Daphne reached out her hand towards Celestian’s cheek. He flinched and pulled his head back, then dutifully placed his cheek in her palm.

“What’s this? Who are you? Is this a dream?”

“What?”

“Ah, is this a dream?”

Daphne propped herself up on her forearm and raised her upper body. Then she lightly slapped Celestian’s cheek, not hard enough to hurt. There was a small, crisp sound. Celestian touched his cheek with a puzzled expression.

“…Why did you hit me?”

“I thought it might be a dream.”

She sat up completely. Judging by the sensation in her fingertips, it didn’t seem to be a dream. A pile of work was stacked on the table behind Celestian. Misha seemed to have gone home.

“Don’t most people slap their own cheeks when they think it’s a dream?”

“I hit you because I knew it wasn’t a dream.”

“Why does your story keep changing?”

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Then stop exaggerating.”

“I’m not exaggerating…”

Daphne, who had almost crawled to where the file folders were stacked, emptied a bottle of water in one go and collapsed onto the sofa. Celestian, who had been leaning against the low bed, let out an empty laugh as if he still found it ridiculous, and stood up.

Celestian, who sat down next to Daphne, found a champagne bottle among the pile of file folders. After opening it, he was about to pour it into an angular glass when he realized the alcohol was lukewarm and closed the lid again.

Celestian doesn’t drink alcohol. He doesn’t even smoke those common cigarettes.

Therefore, that alcohol was meant to be poured for Daphne.

“Why are you being so nice? Is it because you’re grateful I let you see Psyche?”

The expression disappeared from Celestian’s face.

“I’ve been curious about something.”

“Mm.”

“How do you know about my… relationship with Psyche?”

It was a contradictory question.

‘Doesn’t everyone know? Or not…?’

Daphne tilted her head. Then she answered simply.

“I can easily read the look in the eyes of someone I like.”

“But that day was the first time we saw each other up close.”

“That day? When?”

He remained silent, just rubbing his lips with his middle and ring fingers.

‘First time… He must be talking about the execution ceremony.’

That’s the charm of a supporting male character.

Attractive hardware with quite appealing software. However, the OS is completely installed with the female lead, so other women are either seen as x or y in his blind love.

Perhaps Daphne could be z to this man.

“You cried when you went to the concert, when you saw Psyche, because you were happy.”

Celestian frowned.

“You even wake up startled, thinking it’s Psyche when you just smell her scent.”

How passionate.

How can the emotions of a complete stranger be so touching? The only unfilial child who would fight with her mother to the point of exhaustion, saying she’ll keep this man alive, must be Daphne.

“Oh, my dear stirrup.”

Daphne pressed her index finger on the mole above the dazed prince’s eyebrow and pushed it away, then picked up a black file folder and brought it forward.

The prince was still sitting beside her, looking out the window. The sound of raindrops could be heard; it seemed to be raining. Daphne patted Celestian’s shoulder twice.

“Go to sleep. I need to work.”

“It’s still early.”

“Go back and read that pink book or something. You’re in the way.”

Daphne waved her hand as if annoyed.

“In the way?”

Celestian’s green eyes met hers directly. Like clock gears that had been rattling suddenly meshing together. He made another unreadable expression, then quickly grabbed Daphne’s wrist and pulled her onto his body.

“Am I in your way?”

In an instant, her view changed. Daphne’s knees touched Celestian’s firm thighs. He came between her arms. Daphne blinked as she tried to grasp the situation.